MSI to announce M.2 to Turbo Mini-SAS HD AIC

[mvitkun]

When Intel launched their NVMe SSD line, the 750 series, Asus had their AIC (Add-in Card), dubbed the 'hyper kit', that converts M.2 to a female mini-SAS HD connector which would then connect to a male mini-SAS HD connector which would terminate into an SFF-8639 connector that would connect to the Intel 750 SSD in the 2.5" enclosure.
By using Mini-SAS HD, while it is definitely crude, it is able to provide 32Gb/s vs the 16Gb/s of SATA Express which Intel's 750 SSD has already surpassed.
 
They had/have it bundled with only one of their motherboard's and have no option to purchase it separately despite boasting that it's compatibilite with all of their X99 motherboards.
In case you're wondering by the way, yes, it is limited to THEIR X99 motherboards, PCPER attempted to use the hyper kit with several other X99 MOBOs from other vendors with an M.2 slot without success. Asus' press releases remain rather ambiguous as to the compatibility of the hyperkit with their Z97 lineup leaving them marked as N/A under compatibility despite saying both platforms are compatible with M.2 and PCIE based NVMe SSDs
 
Big whoop though, right?
Asus was also the first motherboard vendor to adopt the SATA Express standard onto a motherboard, it seems they're ready to jump on any standard's bandwagon in order to get past the aging SATA standard.
Well that's why this news matters, MSI also thinks this new kid on the block with a name that gets him beaten up daily, SFF-8639, might be here to stay so they're playing it safe and announcing an AIC as well.

They plan to formally announce their intention to include an M.2 to Mini-SAS HD AIC with their upcoming motherboards at Computex this year.
While it will be compatible with both their X99 and Z97 lineup it will only function in PCIE x2 Gen 2 on their currently available Z97 boards.

While the adapter card should technically function with Z97 motherboards, MSI does not offer any SKUs with an M.2 connector capable of greater than 10Gbps via two PCIe Gen 2 lanes. Therefore, in order to obtain the full performance of an SFF-8639-equipped drive, such as Intel’s SSD 750, an X99 motherboard with MSI’s 32Gbps, PCIe Gen 3 x4 Turbo M.2 connector is required.

 

 

 

I wouldn't expect to see a mini-SAS HD connector integrated into a motherboard anytime soon, unless of course we get another big SSD vendor to release an NVMe PCIE SSD in a 2.5" enclosure using the same convoluted solution to connect the the motherboard's PCIE bus.
 

Sources: OC3D Bit-tech KitGuru

[dizmo]

I wish there was a tidier way to do that, but I suppose we'll have to wait for future boards for that.

[MegaDave91]

Quite a niche thing, personally. No doubt the storage speed enthusiasts will be the early adopters. 

[Sunako]

Asus never claimed the hyper kit was compatible with all X99 and z97 boards they said it its compatible with ROG and the sabertooth X99

none of the z97. They said that the pcie add in card was compatible. Also the sabertooth boards do not ship with with the hyper kit yet

and we have been told that the hyper kit will be on sale as soon as the 2.5" drive is ready for retail. The 750 pcie   AIC went on sale  4/16/2015

the second revesion goes on sale the 24.  Theres is no date for the 2.5" drive at this time. Get your facts straight  before you start some inflammatory

statements in your topic.

[Albatross]

I have no idea what the hell that thing is or does. It improves the transfer speed of SSDs, right?

[mvitkun]

Asus never claimed the hyper kit was compatible with all X99 and z97 boards they said it its compatible with ROG and the sabertooth X99

none of the z97.

Quote from Asus' ROG site

 

ASUS TUF Sabertooth X99 already supports 2.5″ and PCI Express card NVM Express options.  Now ASUS is world’s first motherboard brand to offer the same support across the entire range of its consumer Z97/X99 motherboards. 

Also the sabertooth boards do not ship with with the hyper kit yet

Quote from anandtech from when the board was first announced, before the intel 750 SSD was a thing.

 

 

An interesting mention in the press release is that the board is listed as 'the world's first consumer desktop motherboard to support all NVM Express storage devices', 'including M.2 as well as SFF-8639 via a mini-SAS HD connector on a 'Hyper Kit' expansion card'. This also apparently allows compatible drives to take advantage of PCIe 3.0 x4. A clause in the press release stats that Hyper Kit is an 'NVM Express M.2 adapter' included with the motherboard, initially available in North America only. No images of the Hyper Kit were provided, nor a list of compatible drives, although given ASUS' PR strategy that might change when it goes on release in the various regions.

[MegaDave91]

I have no idea what the hell that thing is or does. It improves the transfer speed of SSDs, right?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMSq8nmDTO0

[Sunako]

please provide a link  the post i am looking at on asus  show that it says X99 only for the hyperkit the. The add in card is not the same.

[mvitkun]

please provide a link  the post i am looking at on asus  show that it says X99 only for the hyperkit the. The add in card is not the same.

http://rog.asus.com/418662015/labels/product-news/asus-announces-all-x99-and-z97-motherboards-support-nvm-express-devices/

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9086/x99-goes-tuf-sabertooth-x99-at-cebit-2015-with-nvme-support

[Sunako]

 

 

With the optional ASUS Hyper Kit expansion card, owners of ASUS X99 motherboards are free to attach 2.5-inch NVMe storage devices via the SFF-8639 (Mini-SAS HD) connector provided by Hyper Kit. ASUS Hyper Kit can also be purchased separately.

it no where says that the 2.5" drive and hyper kit are for use on the z97 you have misread the post by them. the wording made elude you but it read only that NVME support is across all boards not the hyper kit. This is partly due to marketing and they way things are presented by it still stay the same. There is no claim to hyper kit on the z97. The m.2 is keyed differently and is run over the PCH not pcie 3.

http://rog.asus.com/418662015/labels/product-news/asus-announces-all-x99-and-z97-motherboards-support-nvm-express-devices/

 quote is from the bottom of the linked page

[Sunako]

As it is getting rather late for me. Anandtech is from march when the 750 was still under NDA it more then likely they misquoted Asus

but under  Asus's  own press releases and all other sources  have it listed as x99 only. If you could please fix your topic to have the correct

information that would be greatly appreciated.

[mvitkun]

As it is getting rather late for me. Anandtech is from march when the 750 was still under NDA it more then likely they misquoted Asus

but under  Asus's  own press releases and all other sources  have it listed as x99 only. If you could please fix your topic to have the correct

information that would be greatly appreciated.

You might be right, however since Asus themselves decided to list Z97 boards as N/A rather than incompatible under hyperkit compatibility after having said that following bios updates both Z79 and X99 will support m.2 and pcie based NVMe SSDs I'll choose to keep the topic as is until there is more definitive information about Z79 not supporting hyperkit.